1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposure recording apparatus for recording a two-dimensional image on an image recording material by applying a light beam emitted from a light source to the image recording material to scan the image recording material relatively in a main scanning direction and in an auxiliary scanning direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Exposure recording apparatus are used for recording a two-dimensional image on an image recording material by rotating a drum with the image recording material mounted on its outer circumferential surface in a main scanning direction and applying a laser beam modulated by image information to the image recording material to scan the image recording material in an auxiliary scanning direction which is perpendicular to the main scanning direction.
Some exposure recording apparatus of the type described above employ an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) for deflecting the laser beam by small distances in the auxiliary scanning direction to generate a plurality of main scanning lines substantially at the same time for the purpose of recording a two-dimensional image at a high speed. Specifically, ultrasonic vibrations are applied to the AOD to diffract the laser beam to produce 0th-order light and 1st-order light, and the laser beam is modulated by image information to produce two scanning lines substantially at the same time.
The AOD undergoes a time delay after ultrasonic vibrations are applied until a diffraction grating is generated. If ultrasonic vibrations are applied to the AOD and the laser beam is modulated at the same time, then pixels represented by the 1st-order light are formed in a position where pixels are to be recorded by the 0th-order light, resulting in a disturbed recorded image.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an exposure recording apparatus which is capable of recording a highly accurate image at a high speed by exposure to a light beam that is deflected by small distances in a direction different from a main scanning direction.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide an exposure recording apparatus which is capable of recording a highly accurate image by highly accurately generating a delay signal depending on the delay characteristics of a light beam deflecting means.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an exposure recording apparatus which is capable of recording a highly accurate image by highly accurately generating a delay signal depending on the delay characteristics of a light beam deflecting means that differ depending on the direction in which the light beam is deflected.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.